A cutting apparatus with rules generally comprises a cutting station equipped with an upper platen and with a lower platen furnished with cutting tools situated opposite one another and disposed in such fashion as to be able to come into contact with one another, for the purpose of producing box cuts by the action of the rules on a sheet of cardboard passing between said platens. It also comprises an ejector station furnished with an upper tool and with a lower tool intended, first, to remove the waste between the different cuts of the box and, second, under certain conditions, to separate the said cuts from one another. The ejection tools are provided in the form of panels or grills carrying either punches or recesses at desired locations that are realized as a function of the cutting jobs. The cutting tools and the ejection tools can be withdrawn from the apparatus through the lateral stand along guides such as rails.
The cutting station comprises a pair of pivoting arms whereof the pivot point is situated on the exterior surface of the lateral supports. On its interior surface, each arm of a pair possesses a guide groove which, when the arms are open, constitutes an extension of the guides in which, for example, the cutting tools are supported. At its end opposite the pivot, each arm is equipped with a pin intended for engagement in a bore milled in the edge of the tool that is drawn from the station. This bore is located at the center of gravity of the tool in such fashion as to permit the pivot thereof. Each arm is also furnished with a retractable pin provided for supporting the tool in a horizontal position. Such an equipping of the arms is disclosed in detail in Swiss Pat. No. 329 398. In conventional cutting apparatus with rules of the type described above, changing the tool is effected by withdrawing it between the arms which have been previously opened. The pins are introduced into their respective bores situated on the lateral faces of the tool and the latter is subsequently pivoted by 180 .degree. in such fashion that the replacement operations are facilitated. After replacement of the former tool by a new tool, the latter is again pivoted by 180.degree., the pins are retracted and the new tool is then introduced into the station to which it appertains. It is to be noted that these return operations are likewise necessary in order to effect the "placement" of the tool. In the type of cutting work involved, in effect, it is necessary to precisely adjust the height of each rule comprising the cutting tool. This operation is referred to as the "placement". To that end, the cutting tool is equipped with a demountable metallic plate at its surface opposite the cutter rules and it is possible to glue small pieces of paper on the surface of a sheet placed on the plate in contact with the back of the tool rules, the effect thereof being to adjust the height of the cutter rules when the plate has been fixed to the tool. In order to effect the "placement", it is obvious that the tool must be repeatedly withdrawn and introduced into the cutting station in order to monitor the quality of the cutting work. Each time that it is necessary to adjust the height of the one or of the other rules, it becomes necessary to proceed to the returning of the tool, to the demounting of the plate and to the remounting thereof. These operations, which are necessary at every change in work, obviously take a not insignificant time and force the operator to place the machine out of service. A significant decrease in production results for the cutter apparatus.